How can surveillance cameras be understood as instruments of discipline in Michel Foucault’s analysis?

In the analysis of Michel Foucault, surveillance cameras function as modern instruments of discipline by rendering human behavior visible and subject to constant scrutiny. Foucault identified this mechanism through the Panopticon, an architectural design for a prison where inmates are kept under the potential observation of a central watchtower.12

This system of discipline is designed to make every instance of "deviance" visible, whether for the purpose of prevention or rehabilitation. By creating a state of permanent visibility, these instruments encourage individuals to internalize the gaze of authority, effectively manipulating and reforming both body and soul to maintain an optimally productive citizenry.1

Foucault argued that such disciplinary structures are deeply entangled with knowledge, forming a dynamic of power-knowledge. In this context, the surveillance camera serves as a representative tool of modern policing, illustrating how power operates not just through overt force, but by shaping individuals into "subjects" who are classified as "normal" or "deviant" based on their adherence to social norms.13